Reviews by Krevee:

A - Pours a hazy golden orange with a smell head that faded pretty quickly. Very slight lacing as I drank it.

S - Smell is almost entirely whiskey. There is some smokey smell along with slight hops and malts. To me the whiskey smell is very overpowering.

T - Taste is very strange. Off the bat I am not enjoying this beer very much. There is a very strong but off whiskey flavor. I generally enjoy a good whiskey or scotch, but this flavor is off. Doesn't taste much like either. There is some smokey flavor along with hops at the end.

M - Mouthfeel is very thin with very little carbonation. But it is smooth and feels alright in the mouth.

D - Well considering I had a lot of trouble drinking this single beer. I don't think I would drink another. Tastes and smells to much like bad whiskey and is hard to put down.

Overall I guess I am glad to try the beer. But I really did not enjoy, this to strong of whiskey, not at all balanced. Maybe it was because I got this beer a little out of date 02/21/10 was the best buy date. Its a very strange beer and not to my tastes I can see why some would like it, but not something I would ever drink again. I would like to rate this beer higher for creativeness from BrewDog but it doesn't seem like a good DIPA to me or very tasty IMO so I just can't

More User Reviews:

Batch 012
Best by 02/02/12
I thought I had a bad bottle, but reading previous reviews, I guess this is what the beer is meant to be. Warning: Don't drink this beer.
It is a limpid yellow color with no head to speak of.
It has a bit of citrus aroma. No note of the whiskey barrel in which it is aged.
Slight grapefruit taste.
Flat.
Crappy beer.

The beer pours cloudy yellow and looks about like a hefeweizen. The aroma is like a very peaty scotch. I know it was aged in scotch casks but I expected more of an IPA aroma. The flavor is similar to the smell, as it tastes like cheap scotch. No real apparent hop or malt flavor, just peaty, smokey scotch. The beer poured almost flat with little to no carbonation. I appreciate the effort of aging an IPA in scotch casks, but the casks took over the beer instead of accenting it. This is a miss for me.

Sadly, this was brutally awful. Poured an oily gold with no head at all, not even a ring of bubbles. As I love Islay malts, this smelled wonderful; smokey, peaty, salty, with a hint of ethyl and wood. Everything you want in a single malt. The beer crashed into a mountain at the speed of sound after that. A sickening rubbing alcohol/creosote/paint thinner combination is all I can describe it as. It didn't even taste like Islay scotch, but possibly the outside of one of the barrels it was aged in. I couldn't even make it through the 12-oz bottle. I love BrewDog's other offerings, but definitely not this one.

Storm opens with a rich whiff of charcoal, ash, heavy wood grains and burnt vanilla that would be more at home coming out of a bottle of scotch whiskey than beer, making immediately obvious the brew’s barrel aging. So heavy is the whiskey overtone at first that the beer itself is almost lost against it, but there are layers of sticky brown sugar, burnt toast crust, brown bread and, just at the edges, a sweet fruit ester rim with tinges of orange, berry, and apricot. After a few moments these sweeter notes become more apparent as the initial shock of whiskey fades slightly. Heavy pine resins from the hops blend well with the whiskey notes and fruits, joined by touches of pink grapefruit and grapefruit rind. As a whole, the nose is excellent, the aromas blending almost perfectly and feeding off one another to produce an alluring and delicious waft of thick, sticky vapor that changes noticeably over the course of only a few minutes, ranging from an initial whiskey blast that almost singes to the nose hairs to a pink grapefruit sweet hop blast after the whiskey dies off.

On the tongue, the beer opens with a huge whiskey blast that sears the tongue and, if you breathe out, the nose as well. The flavors here are huge and definitely geared toward the dark side, with mountains of carbon, charcoal, and ash swamping the landscape, and floating bits of burnt bread, charred vanilla, and tobacco cluttering the shores. So powerful are these barrel aged notes that the beer is almost utterly lost against them, and based on initial flavors alone, a blind taster could easily make the mistake of thinking this to be watered down whiskey. In subsequent sips, as the tongue becomes somewhat more used to the charcoal and ash, a layer of pine resin emerges, joined by berries and oranges that peek their heads up tenuously from behind the trees. The beer also gains a bit more nuance from brown breads and pepper. Still, the whiskey notes are dominant, occupying the larger portion of the aftertaste as well, which lingers in burnt offerings and charcoal on the tongue for a very long time. Mouthfeel is a strange medium-light to medium, given the potency of the flavors, and carbonation is medium-light.

Overall, while I like the beer and want to give it higher ratings, especially since the initial aromas were so enticing, I find the whiskey notes to be simply too overpowering on the tongue, and the beer flavors lost against them. It says much that a beer boasting around 50 IBUs has almost all of those IBUs fade well into the background against an onslaught of whiskey. In fact, the only reason my scores are as high as they are is that I quite like carbon and charcoal notes; otherwise I would have likely failed this brew utterly. So while I appreciate the flavors, I find them overly intense, and have a hard time imagining drinking more than one bottle of this at a time—even halfway through the first bottle, the intense smokiness is powerful enough that I can only take a sip every few minutes.

I've been more or less avoiding the Islay cask offerings from this brewer, but today I was presented an opportunity to try it, alongside a 12-year-old Lagavulin, no less...

This beer pours a clear golden yellow hue, with a whiff of thin soapy white head, that leaves limited spotty lace around the glass. No need to lean into the glass to guess what this is going to smell like - I can discern that quite readily by holding the freshly-poured glass at a full arm's length: that acrid, eye-burning, been camping all week stench that is embedded peat smoke. No surprise, I suppose, it does say 'Islay' and 'Whisky' on the label, but wow, is it intense. Leaning closer to the actual glass, the smoke just gets denser, but in the deepest dark, there is but a light! A weird, unexpected light, but light nonetheless - the distinct calling card aroma of the DIPA - grapefruit and pine hops, blended with a caramel malt. Thus begins the Jekyll and Hyde experience that is this freak show...

The taste is much like the smell: big peat smoke right off the bat, but I'll admit, the smoke dissipates after a spell, to reveal the underlying malt and fruit, just like in its well-made Island Malt cousins. The caramel malt and citrus hops are there, but battered and singed by the remains of the sinus-clearing smoke. I can't call the taste, or the smell, 'good' - 'accurate', maybe, but not good. The carbonation is moderate, essentially there to remind you that what you're drinking is beer, the body is a wee bit thin, and it finishes as it started - peaty.

In case it isn't clear, my tastes in Scottish whisky tend toward Speyside, so peat isn't my thing. Set next to a dram of the big peaty Islay Malt, this beer holds its own. That's not my issue - it's just as advertised. However, not all good things are meant to be mixed together, and this is a prime example. Any of the intense hops and malt character of the supposed base DIPA are lost under the assault of smoke. If you like the thought of burnt tropical fruit, be my guest.

Hazy blonde, light and thin white head kicks around for a long time, settles down fast with good remaining coverage.

The nose is very strange and unique. wine-cork, soft vanilla, tangerine, wet cedar wood, slight cardboard, sugar coated grapefruit & heather honey. The hops give off the fruitiness and the cask aging brings out some of the crazy aroma's like vanilla and cedar wood. i've never smelled another brew like it.

this is a tangy-fruity IPA with a huge amount of cask-aging effects like, vanilla all over the place, oak wood and a decent amount of heat that is reminisant of whiskey. Then a dry, and bitter hop flavor rolls in with acorns and mellowed by the fruitiness of pineapple. sure the flavor is odd, but with it being aged in cask just like a traditional IPA would be i'm enjoing the oddity. This brew makes you think about what's happeing, bonus points for originality. An herbal, slightly bitter hop effect comes back and acidic fruits roll in, cedar, oak is back with a heck of a lot of heat. The vanilla from the barrel aging is a sweet current and a rather smooth effect. The feel is soft and relaxed as it should be after being layed down for a while. no zip, no bite here, it's pretty mellow.

The vanilla and woody aspects makes this one tough to achieve a decent balance, but hey! it's different. complexity is good but it's trade-off with the weirdness.

If you don't mind spending a 6-pack worth of $$$ on a single, i say try it out, you only live once. (on this plane)

A- Pours a dark golden orangish color with very little carbonation in the glass.

S- The aroma is dominated by the smokey whisky barrel smells. Behind all the smokey whisky notes you can faintly pick up on some hops but they are just a faint hint.

T- The taste like the aroma carries a lot of the whisky flavors from the barrel aging with some faint watered down hops and malt in the background.

M- The mouthfeel is very faintly carbonated and watery. Almost like a soda that has been left out for a few hours and has just a little bit of carbonation left.

D- Overall, this is an interesting beer that is worth a try. I think the barrel aging took over the beer a little too much, I would like it more if the barrel aging and the IPA flavors were a little more balanced. Definitely worth a try though.

Keep in mind we started drinking this an dthen saw that the bottle said best before 02-02-2010 and we tasted it 11-1-2010..

My wife and I opened this even though we saw the rating and wanted to see what a "C" tasted like, and it was much worse more so of an "F" rating.

No carbinaion, golden yellow in color, taste was all smoke from the whiskey, very dry. First thought when I took a wiff was beef jerky. Maybe this was because the bottle was so out of date. but we were not fans. I wish I would have looked the bottle over before buying this.

This bottle was not finished, we took maybe four sips each thinking it might get better as you go.. that was not the case..

Didn't know what to expect from this as I poured it into a snifter. The color was a little week for and IPA, reminded me almost of High Life, with a thin white head. But that is to be expected for a Barrel Aged IPA. The nose is straight whisky as is the taste. Almost all traces of IPA are gone. It tastes like Dewer's without the bite. I like Brewdog, they do interesting things with aging beer but this one didn't do it for me.

Served from bottle into a Duvel tulip. Poured a very pale yellow orange with a minimal white head. Maintains nice lacing throughout. The aroma is comprised of wood and mothballs (holy crap). The flavor is pretty much the same as the aroma. It had a light feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall, HOLY SHIT! This thing is horrible. I was warned by another BA not to drink this in a LNBA thread, I should have listened. Drank around 4 ounces and the rest went down the drain. This thing is just plain nasty...

I hate when this happens. I see an expensive beer at a store that I've never read about and think it sounds like it would be awesome. Why do I never learn? This stuff was over $7 for one bottle and I could have easily averted the situation just by taking a look at the BA rating. When a beer is rated C overall...there's pretty much no chance I'm going to enjoy it. Warning to anyone who hasn't yet tried this stuff: it sucks. I wouldn't drink it if it cost $1.

Poured into a snifter, Brewdog Storm pours a golden-honey colour. The head consists of a ring of large bubbles around the glass. There's some visible carbonation and an apparent thin body.

Smells of peat, whiskey, Five Alive (yes, the cheap fruit juice blend) and Garfield fruit snacks (they haven't been around for a decade or so, it took me a while to remember what that specific smell was). Whiskey and Five Alive? I'm not sure how well those go together. Interesting, to be sure.

What the hell is this? Cardboard, cheap tropical fruit juice, cheap whiskey, alcohol, smoke. Smoked peat finish. Much too watery and all out of balance. I was intrigued by the idea of an Islay whiskey barrel-aged DIPA, but they didn't pull this off at all. Poorly executed attempt. What a waste of a scotch barrel.

You can see it on the pour, the body is much too thin. Low carbonation. Not good.

This stuff is horrible. Who would think this is good? I shared this with my dad and he thought it was terrible too. Not drinkable at all.

Pours a clear amber orange with a very thin white head that rapidly fades.

Nose is all Scotch...period. Some fruit character and a lot of peat, (latikia tobacco) in the nose. You'll love it or hate it; I love it.

Mouthfeel is a disappointment. It is thin and lacking in body and lacking carbonation.

Flavors are just off-putting and the disappointment continues. Tastes like watered down Scotch mixed with a lightly hoped beer and with no integration, elegance or grace. Flavors go from watered down fruit/smokey Scotch to a grapefruit bitter finish that's not bad. Unfortunately, flavors are just not pleasant; beer is not balanced and not particularly attractive in the mouth
* * *
FIRST REVIEW; BETTER BOTTLE?
(This review was a "B.") Honey amber in color with a quick white head. Great smokey, peat nose followed by like flavors of smoke, peat and citrus.

Very nice mouthfeel, body and balance. A very full peat grapefruit hop finish. Leaves a peat/smokey finish.

This is a nice "different" brew. Not sure how it pairs with food but it's worth the taste as it has something pleasant going on for it.
* * *
Perhaps this strange beer needs yet a third serious tasting. We'll see....

From the 12 oz bottle in a snifter. This odd little brew pours a light
amber with little head and no lacing. Nose of oak, smoke, Irish peat
notes, and light whiskey. Flavors follow the nose with heavy smoked malts,
a touch of orange rind mingling with the whiskey (a style of which I have never tried
BTW) and moderately touched by herbal hops and a touch of earthy yeast.
Decent mouth feel reminiscent of an English IPA with no carbonation
and a smoked peat malt whiskey aftertaste. Decent but would not seek
this one out again.

This is one of the worst beers I have ever drunk. Hot, plastic, very weird off taste. Perhaps if I would have given it a chance to warm up a bit, something more MIGHT have come out, but after two sips of this, down the drain it went.

A- Poured this beer fairly hard and it comes out a fairly hazy golden color. The head was quite thin, although it has big frothy bubbles, settling down to a bubbly/creamy looking film. There is quite a bit of carbonation upon looking at it....quite a few columns are sticking to the glass. Decent sticky lacing clings to the glass.

S- The first thing I notice is a heavy peaty smoky aroma that is very dominant...it almost smells like smoked meat. There is a noticeable malt aroma followed by some bitter hops on the finish. I was surprised but I don't smell much in terms of alcohol A very unique smelling brew, that's for sure.

T- This is probably one of the most interesting beers a person will come across. If I thought it almost smelled like meat....I really think it tastes like smoked beef! It's the combination of sweet malt, very smoky wood, hops and a touch of whisky that makes this a truly uniquely taste experience.

M- This beer feels like I've sucked in a mouthful of ash from a bonfire. It's medium bodied, not as heavily carbonated as I thought it would be...

D- Interesting as it is, I don't see myself getting this beer again. It's a very powerful beer and a little too smoky for my likning. It's much more likely better suited to be a meal beer, or with a 6yr old cheddar, possibly older. I wouldn't be able to have more than 1 serving of this brew before wanting something else...very unique though.

11.2 ounce bottle, best before 2/2/10 so it's a bit past it's best by date. Served in an oversized wine glass, the beer pours a cloudy golden/orange color with about a 1/4 inch white head. Not much head retention, but there's a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is pretty nice, it smells like peat and smoke, just like a good smoky scotch whisky. I don't notice any other aromas, the smoke/peat is pretty overpowering, not that I'm complaining. However, the taste isn't quite as good as the aroma. I can still taste the peat and smoke, but there's also a weird plasticy taste noticable. It's not bad tasting, but it's a weird enough taste that I can't rate this beer above average on taste. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit coating with moderate carbonation. Drinkability is average, but I probably rated this higher than most overall because I like smoky scotch whiskies. It's not great, but I thought it was worth a try.

Pours a cloudy yellow-amber with some small bubbly off white head into a snifter.

Nose is oakey and boozy with strong notes of single-malt scotch and peat. Some underlying citrus coming through from the IPA base. Alcohol warmth coming through as it warms.

Medium bodied with low carbonation. Feels a little thin.

Taste, like the nose, has a lot of that scotch barrel flavor coming through. Peat smoke and wood. Very earthy. Some caramel malty sweetness up front and bit of bitterness as it goes down. You can just make out some of the citrus hops swirling about underneath it all, which I feel compliments everything else quite well.

Drinkability is good. Relatively light body and lack of any harsh or overly strong flavors allow this to go down pretty smooth.

Overall this is a very interesting and different beer. You can definitely tell that it started out as an IPA. It has a lot of solid hoppy IPA flavor, but it's hidden beneath a layer of peat smoke and oak from the barrel aging. This has a very defining smokey Islay scotch character to it, which sets it apart from a lot of other barrel aged (American bourbon) beers. I'm not a huge Scotch drinker, but having been to Scotland I can appreciate a lot of the aromas and flavors here. It all seems very comforting and familiar. This seems to be getting a lot of relatively bad reviews, but I don't agree at all. Although it's very different and takes a few sips to get used to, I really dig what's going on here. I think the hops and the scotch (hopscotch?!) really compliment each other rather nicely, in fact, and the smokey character is delightful. Well done!

Bottle: Poured a hazy hay color ale with a small foamy head with minimal retention and not much lacing. Aroma of Islay is quite dominant with some light traces of dry hops. Taste is totally dominated by Islay scotch which is enjoyable though dry aftertaste is a very weird mix. Body is quite full with low carbonation and no alcohol was apparent. While I really enjoyed Islay scotch I can't say that this was a really good mix. I couldn't finish the bottle and had to drain pour that one.